Question 1

What is garden design?

Accepted Answer

Garden design is the art and process of planning and creating outdoor spaces that are both functional and visually pleasing, and that balance beauty, function, and sustainability
To create a visually appealing and functional outdoor space, a Garden Designer will consider many different elements such as:

Spatial arrangement and layout 
Slopes or other problem areas
Structural elements (like patios, paths, walls, pergolas, etc.)
Materials
Plant selection
Lighting

Question 2

Why should I use a garden designer?

Accepted Answer

A professional designer can:
Realise the potential of your outdoor space, combining creativity with technical knowledge to help you make the best use of every bit of your outdoor space
Provide a cohesive and creative solution, tailored to both your personal tastes and lifestyle
Design within a specified budget
Use a range of garden design ‘hacks’ to make your garden feel bigger or more private than it actually is.
Ensure proper plant selection for your soil type and location
Save you time, money, and expensive mistakes
Ensure effective coordination with contractors and suppliers

A professional designer will take into account:
Your own tastes and styles 
Specifics of the site – (such as views, neighbouring properties, existing trees and structures, where the sun is at different times of day, the soil, amount of rainfall etc)
Where you live  (your house and neighbourhood character and style)
Where the doors, windows and key views from the house are

Question 3

How do I know you are a professional Designer?

Accepted Answer

Visionary Gardens are fully qualified, holding a BSc(Hons) in Garden & Greenspace Design

We are accredited by both the APL (Association of Professional Landscapers) and HTA (Horticultural trades Association), and is a friend of SGLD (Society of Garden and Landscape Design). These governing bodies regulate the industry and separate professional design and contractors from the rest

Question 4

How much does garden design cost?

Accepted Answer

This is one of the most common questions we are asked, and one of the most difficult to answer before we have done any design work and agreed the scope of the work.

We provide upfront customised quotes for design work based on your individual requirements after your initial consultation, and will work hard during the garden design process to make the most effective use of your budget, however costs can vary depending on:

The size of the garden or outdoor space to be developed
The complexity of the project (design challenges such as steep slopes, problem areas, existing elements that are to be incorporated)
The scope of work 
Inclusion of special features

Question 5

What’s the difference between Garden Design and Landscaping?

Accepted Answer

Garden design focuses on planning and aesthetics
Garden Designers have to be technically and horticulturally knowledgeable, so if you are looking for something unique to you then engaging a garden designer is the best place to start.

Landscaping is the physical implementation
Landscapers have a wide range of skills and equipment that enable them to reshape and contour a site, install new drainage, build proper foundations, construct garden structures, and install (sometimes quite technically demanding) designs, safely and to budget. If you are simply replacing or renewing something – such as a drive, terrace or boundary, it is unlikely that a garden designer will add enough value to make it worth hiring one and you may want to hire a landscaper directly.
We are fortunate to work with a wide range of professional Landscapers, and so are able to match each project with the right contractor team. If you have your own preferred landscaper we can collaborate with them too.

Question 6

What is involved in having a garden designed?

Accepted Answer

It is magical to see your new garden design come to life, however having a garden built can be a major and daunting undertaking. Once the contractors move in, it very quickly turns into a bit of a building site, and it will look worse before it gets better!

Given that the build can be quite disruptive, our aim is to get it right on paper first to make the process as smooth running as possible. The main steps in most garden design projects include:

1. Initial consultation followed by a proposal quotation
2. Site Survey and Analysis
3. Concept Design (and a set of revisions if required)
4. Detailed design Plan
5. Tender (and any additional steps such as Planning Permissions)
6. Construction
7. Planting Design

Question 7

Do you build the gardens yourself?

Accepted Answer

No, however we are fortunate to work with several professional Landscapers, and so are able to help match each project with the right contractor team. If you have your own preferred landscaper we can collaborate with them too.

During the build we monitor progress, paying inspection visits to help resolve issues that may arise, agree any changes with you and oversee the realisation of the garden design vision.

Things can get confused if you ask the landscaper for changes or are asked what to do about overcoming an issue, so we take away any of the worry that you would have if you were employing a landscaper directly. We work with the landscaper to resolve issues in the most effective way possible and if something arises that involves additional cost, we would investigate this and then ask for your approval before any additional costs are incurred.

We also source and coordinate specialist contractors and suppliers, which could include:
Surveyors
Structural engineers
Tree surgeons
Lighting specialists
Water specialists
soil and drainage specialists

Question 8

How long does the garden design process take?

Accepted Answer

There are no fixed timelines for a project, as each one is an individual, tailored process and depends on the response times of the client as well as the designer’s schedule. A typical timeline might be:

Initial Consultation: 1 hour
Concept design: 3–4 weeks after survey has been completed
Final Design: 3-4weeks (after concept design signed-off and any revisions agreed)
Installation: Varies from a few days to several weeks depending on the scope (an estimate will be provided along with the contractor quote for the build)

Question 9

Can you work with small or awkward spaces?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely!

Creative solutions can transform even the smallest balcony, courtyard, or awkwardly shaped space into something functional and beautiful. We specialise in transforming small, sloped, or irregular spaces into beautiful, usable areas.

Question 10

What are my options if I can’t afford to have my entire garden built all at once?

Accepted Answer

There are a few options:

·       Only design and build a section of the garden from the outset (for example, if you want more seating and less planting, or more planting and less lawn). It’s perfectly feasible to landscape just a part of the garden

·       Do the project in stages: Producing the overall concept design and ‘masterplan’ as usual is important to ensure the whole garden is cohesive and will ‘flow’ better than if it is designed in bits. Once this is in place we can obtain costs for building separate parts of the garden and agree a phased build, based on your priorities and available funds. Building the garden in phases can increase the total cost, partly due to inflation, but also because it is more efficient for a contractor to set up what they need once. You also have to be careful that subsequent build work does not damage anything that was finished earlier

·       Reduce the scope. It is possible to reduce the cost by choosing different materials or removing feature elements such as water features or structures

Question 11

Do you charge for revisions to the garden design?

Accepted Answer

Changing one aspect of the design can have knock on effects that can take some time to resolve. As long as the overall scope of the brief has not changed and the amendments are relatively minor then we would not charge to make a couple of revisions. It doesn’t usually happen, but if changes require a complete rethink, then we would agree the cost of coming up with a new garden design.

Building a garden is a significant investment, so we work hard to ensure that you are happy with the concept design before moving on.

Question 12

Do you supply plants?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We supply plants using a range of specialist trade nurseries that will have grown the plants under optimal conditions.

Once the planting scheme has been agreed, we will take care of sourcing and ordering the plants and arranging delivery. Upon delivery we will set them out as per plan and supervise their planting.

Question 13

Do you guarantee the plants?

Accepted Answer

We provide a basic plant maintenance guide that will give a high level overview of how to care for each plant that goes into your garden, however the success of plants depends on how well they are looked after once they’re in the ground (and there can be diseases in the soil or invasions of pesky pests!).

Although we make every effort to select plants that are suitable for the conditions within your garden, plants are not 100% reliable so it is not possible to provide a guarantee. We always assess the health of the plants when they are delivered and any that we are not happy with will be rejected and sent back to the nursery.

Question 14

What should I prepare before our consultation?

Accepted Answer

You don’t have to prepare anything, but it can be helpful to have a think about the following:
·      Any inspiration images or mood boards
·      A rough idea of your budget
·      Information about how you’d like to use the space (e.g., entertaining, relaxing, growing produce)

We’ll take care of the rest!

Question 15

What areas do you cover?

Accepted Answer

We are based in the south side of Edinburgh with easy access to the bypass.  We take on work from any part of Edinburgh and the Lothians, Central belt, Fife and Borders, but would always consider any location.

Question 16

How do I get started?

Accepted Answer

Easy! Just get in touch either by phone, email or by filling in the form on the ‘Get in Touch’ section of our website.

It’s always useful to give as much information as possible with your initial enquiry, but don’t worry we’ll keep you right and guide you through everything!